"I think there is an underfed appetite for literary romance." Totally agree!!! The Time Traveler's Wife came out 20 years ago and is still my #1 romance forever. I was thrilled last year when Curtis Sittenfeld published a romance too. There is not enough literary romance in the market!
oh my God yes! How could I forget about Romantic Comedy! Loveeddd it. Thanks for reminding me of it, but yes, I want a whole literary movement around this loll
It always makes me laugh that Sally Rooney tries so hard to separate herself from romance/genre fiction, when the popularity of Normal People is largely bc people LOVE the intimate relationship between Marianne/Connell and she writes romance and longing so well but it's like she just can't lean into it
I know it's weird and literary critics/book reviewers just...don't address her being a romance-coded writer?? Also, can I just say I clicked on your profile and saw that the first article had the subheading "in defense of horny as a personality trait" and screamed lol I've been thinking about this A LOT. Greetings from a fellow chronic crusher whose current crush is some model on a luggage website who may or may not be AI generated
lol I saw this essay right after I published that one, and it was so timely-- we're both out here defending romance's honor!! Also I 100% support your possibly AI generated crush...I think you two really have a shot at falling in love
Just remembering when I got my sister to read my first draft of my latest, and she responded saying ‘I love how it’s not a typical romance, but more dark and complex’ and I was very quick to jump in ‘No, it’s women’s fiction, actually!’
I must give that a listen! Yeah my books’ central themes are growth and recovery, but since the protagonists are recovering from abusive intimate partner relationships their ability to form new ones become a deep focus. So yes, I suppose that answers my question, though your article did bring to my attention my own biases against the genre of romance and my aversion to the prospect of my work being labelled as such, when in fact I should be so lucky!
I really appreciate how this article dismantles the shame associated with the genre of romance, and it made me question if I myself am shying away from it in identifying my own novels' genres. I call my books women's fiction, sometimes contemporary fiction, but yet they are both underpinned by a strong romantic storyline. The more we discuss this subject, and give the genre of romance the seriousness it deserves, the better.
This is interesting! I know women's fiction is its OWN can of worms lol do you listen to the Shit No One Tells You About Writing? They do a really great job on that podcast of teasing out the difference between women's fiction and romance (apparently, the A plot in women's fiction is almost never the love story, but instead career, family, self-discovery etc.). I can definitely relate to this sentiment though, and it's absolutely something I've had to interrogate in my own writing. Thanks for reading and commenting <3 I really appreciate it :)
Oh god I know the feeling! I still get a bit squeamish when a certain kind of man wants to know what I write about lol
Oh no, I hadn't even thought of that!
"I think there is an underfed appetite for literary romance." Totally agree!!! The Time Traveler's Wife came out 20 years ago and is still my #1 romance forever. I was thrilled last year when Curtis Sittenfeld published a romance too. There is not enough literary romance in the market!
oh my God yes! How could I forget about Romantic Comedy! Loveeddd it. Thanks for reminding me of it, but yes, I want a whole literary movement around this loll
That death certificate- thank you!
oh my God I'm glad somebody appreciated it because it was not fun to make lollll
Should be used as a meme.
It always makes me laugh that Sally Rooney tries so hard to separate herself from romance/genre fiction, when the popularity of Normal People is largely bc people LOVE the intimate relationship between Marianne/Connell and she writes romance and longing so well but it's like she just can't lean into it
I know it's weird and literary critics/book reviewers just...don't address her being a romance-coded writer?? Also, can I just say I clicked on your profile and saw that the first article had the subheading "in defense of horny as a personality trait" and screamed lol I've been thinking about this A LOT. Greetings from a fellow chronic crusher whose current crush is some model on a luggage website who may or may not be AI generated
lol I saw this essay right after I published that one, and it was so timely-- we're both out here defending romance's honor!! Also I 100% support your possibly AI generated crush...I think you two really have a shot at falling in love
LOLL his best quality is that he probably doesn't exist so I'm very hopeful <3
Just remembering when I got my sister to read my first draft of my latest, and she responded saying ‘I love how it’s not a typical romance, but more dark and complex’ and I was very quick to jump in ‘No, it’s women’s fiction, actually!’
I must give that a listen! Yeah my books’ central themes are growth and recovery, but since the protagonists are recovering from abusive intimate partner relationships their ability to form new ones become a deep focus. So yes, I suppose that answers my question, though your article did bring to my attention my own biases against the genre of romance and my aversion to the prospect of my work being labelled as such, when in fact I should be so lucky!
I really appreciate how this article dismantles the shame associated with the genre of romance, and it made me question if I myself am shying away from it in identifying my own novels' genres. I call my books women's fiction, sometimes contemporary fiction, but yet they are both underpinned by a strong romantic storyline. The more we discuss this subject, and give the genre of romance the seriousness it deserves, the better.
This is interesting! I know women's fiction is its OWN can of worms lol do you listen to the Shit No One Tells You About Writing? They do a really great job on that podcast of teasing out the difference between women's fiction and romance (apparently, the A plot in women's fiction is almost never the love story, but instead career, family, self-discovery etc.). I can definitely relate to this sentiment though, and it's absolutely something I've had to interrogate in my own writing. Thanks for reading and commenting <3 I really appreciate it :)